Hugh made no remark as to the reason of his visit to the Riviera, for, indeed, he had arrived only the day previously, and she had welcomed him joyously. Little did she dream that her lover had come out from London to see that woman who was declared to be so notorious.
"I noticed her playing this afternoon," Hugh said a moment later in a quiet reflective tone. "What do the gossips really say about her, Dorise? All this is interesting. But there are so many interesting people here."
"Well, the man who told me about her was sitting with me outside the Cafe de Paris when she passed across the Place to the Casino. That caused him to make the remarks. He said that her past was obscure. Some people say that she was a Danish opera singer, others declare that she was the daughter of a humble tobacconist in Marseilles, and others assert that she is English. But all agree that she is a clever and very dangerous woman."
"Why dangerous?" inquired Hugh in surprise.
"Ah! That I don't know. The man who told me merely hinted at her past career, and added that she was quite a respectable person nowadays in her affluence. But--well----" added the girl with a laugh, "I suppose people gossip about everyone in this place."
"Who was your informant?" asked her lover, much interested.
"His name is Courtin. I believe he is an official of one of the departments of the Ministry of Justice in Paris. At least somebody said so yesterday."
"Ah! Then he probably knew more about her than he told you, I expect."
"No doubt, for he warned my mother and myself against making her acquaintance," said the girl. "He said she was a most undesirable person."
At that moment Lady Ranscomb and Walter Brock joined them, whereupon the former exclaimed to her daughter: "Did you see that woman over there?--still playing--the woman in black and the jade beads, against whom Monsieur Courtin warned us?"
"Yes, mother, I noticed her. I've just been telling Hugh about her."
"A mysterious person--eh?" laughed Hugh with well-affected indifference. "But one never knows who's who in Monte Carlo."
"Well, Mademoiselle is apparently something of a mystery," remarked Brock. "I've seen her here before several times. Once, about two years ago, I heard that she was mixed up in a very celebrated criminal case, but exactly what it was the man who told me could not recollect. She is, however, one of the handsomest women in the Rooms."
"And one of the wealthiest--if report be true," said Lady Ranscomb.
"She fascinates me," Dorise declared. "If Monsieur Courtin had not warned us I should most probably have spoken to her."